Trinity SundayOpening Prayer Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord's Prayer Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be they name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. Deliver us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. AmenA Thought for Today: Today we reflect on the amazing nature of God, a community of love. One God, three persons. A unity beyond our everyday understanding. Our creator, our saviour, our life giver. A Trinity, a three in one, a unity of three. A God that the Creeds of the Church attempt to describe. A God that the Church calls us to worship as father, son and holy spirit. A God that invites us to come. Prayer for Trinity: Almighty and eternal God, revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons and yet one God, in the perfect unity of love; by the grace of the Divine Majesty keep us steadfast in faith to acknowledge the Trinity and worship the unity. Hold us firm so that we may come to know you in all your ways and always rejoice in your eternal glory. AmenPrayer of blessing May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and evermore. Amen.Closing Note This message is sent to you with love and prayers as: a word of encouragement and a sign of hope in these quite extraordinary times.
Trinity Sunday Readings: Proverbs 8v1-4&22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5v1-5; John 16v12-15. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: Today we call to mind that as Christians we believe in a Triune God. Three persons but one God. A God who reveals God’s self to us as: our creator, our saviour and our guide. A God who we know is one God but who we meet as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A God who we describe as the Holy Trinity, yet one God. This is a belief of the Church that is set out in the Creeds. This is a belief that is described by the Church as a mystery because it is difficult to understand or make sense of. For how can one God be three persons? Yet even if this belief makes little sense to us, it is the belief of the Church. For whether we understand it or not; or struggle to accept this teaching or not; the Church truly believes that this is what God is. However, for those of us who cannot make any sense of this, we can step back and breath because we learn many things about through scripture. For, the psalm reminds us that the God who made heaven and earth seeks out humankind. Then in Proverbs we hear that Wisdom came into being before all things were made and was present at creation. We also hear that Wisdom delights and rejoices in the human race and is always calling out to us to give us understanding. Next, in the gospel of John, we hear Jesus telling his disciples that the Spirit of Truth is sent to guide us. Finally, in the letter to the Romans, we hear that God’s love for us has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The same spirit that tells us that we can find peace with God through Jesus; and, with Jesus, the hope of sharing the glory of God. All of this tells me that we have a God who is awesome, mighty and loving towards the human race; a God who is reaching out to help us. A God that the letter to the Romans says will send the spirit of God to us when we suffer to bring good out of miserable times. For when we suffer: misery produces endurance; endurance produces character; character produces hope; a hope that can never disappoint. So whatever we believe about God and whatever we can accept about the Church’s teachings about God; what we do know is that God is there for us, even in the darkest of times. Let us Pray: Almighty, everlasting and eternal God you have revealed yourself to the Church as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We thank you for the grace you give that helps us to recognise you as a Trinity. We thank you for the power to worship you as a Unity. We ask you to keep us committed in faith and shielded from adversities, but if we must suffer to sense your presence. We pray you will guide us to know you in all your ways and teach us to rejoice in your eternal glory. Amen Thanks for joining us today.
Opening Prayer Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord's Prayer Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be they name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us. Deliver us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. AmenA Thought for Today: Today we reflect on the gift of the Holy Spirit to God’s new body, the disciples of Jesus. The Spirit came with power like a mighty wind and tongues of fire. The Spirit came with gifts that amazed, astonished and bewildered others. The Spirit came and fulfilled the words of the prophet Joel. (Acts 2v1-21) Today we can ask God for His Holy Spirit. The Spirit that will open our hearts, souls and minds to see that Jesus is Lord.Prayer for Pentecost: Eternal God, send us the Holy Spirit to enlighten us, to teach us and to guide us; so we may tell out your opening of the way of eternal life for people of all races and nations; so that everyone may join in telling others of your glory. AMENPrayer of blessing May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and evermore. Amen.Closing Note This message is sent to you with love and prayers as: a word of encouragement and a sign of hope in these quite extraordinary times.
Pentecost Readings: Acts 2v1-21; Psalm 104v26-36&37b; Romans 8v14-17; John 14v8-17& 25-27. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: In the gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples that those who love him will keep his commandments. Jesus also tells them that everyone who believes in him will do the same kind of work that he was doing. Jesus also promises them that he will ask his father to send the holy spirit to them to remind and guide them. Finally, Jesus says that we may ask him to do things that are in accordance with his will and he will be able to do these things for us. In the Book of Acts, we hear that the Father sent the Holy Spirit into the disciples as they gathered together for the Feast of Pentecost. The sight and sound of the Holy Spirit was so overwhelming and powerful that it gave them the ability to speak and be heard by people in many different languages. This loud and extraordinary occurrence was heard by others who came from all over to find out what was going on. They were surprised to hear the disciples speaking about God’s deeds of power in their own native languages. However, not everyone was convinced by what they witnessed, so in response to this negativity, Peter spoke up. Peter reminded the crowd that God had promised long ago, through the prophet Joel, that one day God’s spirit would be poured out on all people before the coming of the Lord’s day. The day when everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. In the letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that all of God’s children are led by the spirit of God. The spirit that adopts us as God’s children, the spirit that makes us joint heirs with Jesus, the spirit that will one day glorify us. This is the same Holy Spirit promised by God through the prophet Joel. The same Holy Spirit poured out on the disciples on the Feast of Pentecost. The same Holy Spirit that indwells all who follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit that is sent to guide us, whether we are aware of the Spirit’s presence within us or not. The same Holy Spirit that down the ages has prompted visions, prophecies, poems, hymns and prayers. Prayers like the psalms. Psalms that speak out of the depth of the human condition to the one true and faithful God who reaches out in love to us. Let us Pray: Loving and faithful God, thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit. Teach us so we can be faithful servants. Guide us so we have right judgement in all things. Call us to rejoice in worship and open our lips to tell of your glory and to point the way to eternal life, to every race and nation. Amen
